Juneteenth is Coming Up. What is Juneteenth? How Can We Honor it?

Image courtesy St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church, Elizabeth

What is Juneteenth?[1] Juneteenth, also known as “Emancipation Day” or “Freedom Day,” holds tremendous significance in American history. On June 19, 1865, enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas were finally informed of their freedom, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued, having been shielded from this knowledge until late in the Civil War. But from the day of the coming of that good news, the occasion of its announcement was celebrated, first by local Black churches in Texas, and then, as time went on, throughout the nation, until Juneteenth was formally recognized as a federal holiday in 2021.

Slavery in all the states would not end (except as a punishment for a crime) until the 13th Amendment of the Constitution was ratified on December 6, 1865. New Jersey itself refused to pass the 13th amendment when it was first proposed, and was the last northern state to ratify it. Moreover, the ideals of this nation –particularly as described in the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution– have never been fully realized for many.

Observance of Juneteenth invites all Americans to acknowledge and tell the truth about our history, a history which is too often “white-washed,” sanitized and mythologized. Juneteenth not only honors the resilience and triumph of African Americans in their pursuit of freedom, but should stir us all to work diligently for an America that fulfills its highest ideals, not just for some, but for all its people.

How can we honor Juneteenth? The occasion of Juneteenth invites reflection and remembrance of the countless lives impacted by the institution of slavery and the ongoing injustices of racism. By acknowledging this painful history we honor the memory of those harmed, we seek deeper understanding, we commit to preventing the recurrence of the evils of the past, we commit to mending the evils of the present, and we seek a more just, inclusive, and equitable future. This observance necessarily involves recognizing the historical injustices committed against Black communities, and seeking their healing through the repair of those injustices (reparation).

We welcome everyone in the Diocese of New Jersey to participate in Juneteenth events and to embed Juneteenth observance, reflection, and repair into your liturgical observance. Such observances help us as faithful Christians and Episcopalians to “seek and serve Christ in all persons loving our neighbor as ourselves,” to “strive for justice and peace among all people,” and to “respect the dignity of every human being.” In public prayers center both those who waited so long for a word of freedom, and those who still wait for justice delayed.

[1] Text is drawn from W. Stokes, “Juneteenth Observances,” (June 2023), and W. Stokes “Celebrating Juneteenth: Honoring Freedom and Commemorating History,” (June 2023), edited by Jolyon Pruszinski. 

EVENT: Diocese of New Jersey Reparations Commission Slavery History Pilgrimage: Two Upcoming Opportunities (June 6 or July 18)

 

The Diocese of New Jersey Reparations Commission will offer its slavery history pilgrimage on two dates in the coming months: June 6 and July 18. The pilgrimage starts and ends in Perth Amboy and follows a liturgy of reflection and repentance through a circuit of sites of memory related to Anglican and Episcopal involvement in slavery. We will meet at 11am at the Perth Amboy Ferry Slip UNESCO slave trade marker to begin the pilgrimage. Email Rev. Beth Rauen Sciaino (priest@stbernardsnj.org) or Dr. Jolyon Pruszinski (jolyonp@princeton.edu) to let us know you'll be participating or if you have any questions. The full pilgrimage guide is available ONLINE and you can follow it yourself at any time.

Foreword by Elaine Pagels to "Anglican Slavery in New Jersey"

Jolyon Pruszinski and Elaine Pagels at Princeton University, May 16, 2024 (Photo by Molly Schneider)

 Those of us who are White Christians like to think that we stand for justice, for human equality, compassion, and kindness; certainly we oppose slavery and racism. That is why we owe a great debt to Jolyon Pruszinski for offering us this initial investigation of the history of slavery in the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey.

    At the start, he acknowledges his own previous ignorance of this history, an ignorance shared by most of us who have not personally been targets of racism. Those who grew up in public schools like mine, in the California town of Palo Alto, learned in history class that long ago in the past, Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves; now we could proudly endorse the “liberty and justice for all” that our Pledge of Allegiance celebrates. Never mentioned in our history class, however, was what preceded that event: two hundred and fifty years of horrific human trafficking in chattel slavery that helped build and enrich the towns and institutions familiar to us, most of them entirely dominated by White people like ourselves. The history we learned gave only a passing mention to the political struggle to maintain slavery and the horrors of the Civil War. Instead, at the time, our complacency seemed natural—almost our birthright. There was also East Palo Alto, where Cornel West, who later would become my colleague at Princeton, grew up, but I knew little of that, since most Black students were funneled into other school districts.

    But since the 1960s and 1970s, when intense conflict over issues of race increasingly broke into the open, some educators have brought much more of that hidden history to light, while others, to this day, are fighting hard to suppress it. Only more recently have Christians of many denominations begun to acknowledge, much less to reckon with, their part in this tangled and contested history.

    So I deeply appreciate the great service Jolyon Pruszinski has done for members of the Episcopal Church in New Jersey, and especially to members of Trinity Church, Princeton. In this current report, he shows the results of having investigated how, and in what ways, members of the Episcopal Church in New Jersey have engaged slavery and racism, from the first founding of Anglican churches in colonial times to the outbreak of the Civil War. His work is also ongoing, as he now intends to document what has happened from that time to the present.

    The report now before us, more than a history, comes as a manifesto. Pruszinski challenges us to stop avoiding painful truths, and to find freedom instead in acknowledging them, recognizing that the Episcopal churches in which we participate have reaped enormous benefits in wealth and influence from centuries of practicing slavery, segregation, and racism, often armed with scriptural justification. The facts he documents here challenge us not only to recognize what happened, but also to begin the process of repairing the harm in every way we can.

    Pruszinski ends with a call for each one of us to rediscover one another, echoing the prophet Micah’s call to “do justice; love mercy, and walk humbly with your God”—and with your neighbor, and mine.

Elaine Pagels
Professor of History of Religion, Princeton University

(From the Foreword (pp. xi-xii) to Anglican Slavery in New Jersey: An Initial Accounting (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2025), by Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski.)

VIDEO: REPARATIONS: A STATUS REPORT - FRONTIERS INT. PANEL APRIL 25, 2026

The Plainfield, New Jersey chapter of Frontiers International, one of the oldest Black service organizations in the United States, recently hosted a panel discussion on the state of reparations in New Jersey. The panel featured Dr. Jean-Pierre Brutus of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and New Jersey Reparations Council, the renowned organizer Lawrence Hamm, sociologist and congressional candidate Dr. Akil Khalfani, and Diocese of New Jersey Reparations Commission historian Dr. Jolyon Pruszinski. Frontiers has posted the video recording of the panel on their Youtube channel. Many thanks for the invite!

VIDEO: DIOCESE OF NEW JERSEY RESEARCH AT AHA WITH HSEC

The most recent newsletter from the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church (HSEC), The Clearinghouse, highlights research from the Diocese of New Jersey, with video! As part of a panel on reparations research and initiatives in the Episcopal Church organized by HSEC, the Diocesan Reparations Commission historian, Dr. Jolyon Pruszinski, presented on his recent research and the reparations initiatives in the Diocese of New Jersey at the American Historical Association (AHA) national conference in Chicago on January 10, 2026. The HSEC writes: "Watch a timely and important panel discussion, Anglican Slavery in New Jersey: Reparations Work in the Diocese of New Jersey and the Episcopal Church, available on the Historical Society’s YouTube Channel. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association in January 2026, this session brings together leading scholars and church historians to examine the complex legacy of Anglican involvement in slavery and the ongoing work of reparations within the Episcopal Church. Through thoughtful conversation, the panel explores how historical research is uncovering long-overlooked connections between Anglican institutions and slavery in New Jersey—and how this work is shaping efforts toward truth-telling, reconciliation, and repair today. Featuring: The Rev. Dr. Valerie Bailey (Moderator), Dr. Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski (Princeton University), The Rev. Dr. Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook (Historiographer of the Episcopal Church). The discussion highlights the vital role of archival research, institutional accountability, and theological reflection in advancing meaningful reparations initiatives." Many thanks to Matthew Payne of the HSEC for producing the video of the event, and to Drs. Bailey and Kujawa-Holbrook for the invite!

NEWS: "New York Diocese Outlines Plan for $1.2M Racial Reparations Fund" (RNS)

Reporter Fiona André of the Religion News Service (RNS) just published an article outlining recent developments in the Diocese of New York reparations initiative. The article is subtitled: "New York Episcopalians profited from the transatlantic slave trade and were ‘uniquely implicated in the odious institution and in anti-Black policies and practices that extend through generations,’ according to a new report." She writes:

The Episcopal Diocese of New York has launched the second phase of its racial reparations efforts, releasing a new report detailing how it plans to invest the nearly $1.2 million the diocesan convention began committing to the effort in 2019. The document, drafted by the diocese’s racial reparations commission and released publicly on March 17, describes a three-fold reparations process that is focused on: educating congregations about the diocese’s racist history; investing in Black communities in and outside of the Church; and pursuing reparations through a spiritual lens. It also makes recommendations on ways to sustain the reparations fund in the long term. “The report begins the next chapter of this work in a deepening of our commitment,” the Rt. Rev. Matthew F. Heyd, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, told RNS. “Our intention/commitment is to weave the recommendations of the report into the fabric of the diocese and into the whole of our ministries.”

For more information read the full article HERE.

NEWS: STATIONS OF REPARATIONS HONOR BLACK CHURCH HISTORY

"Eugenia Wilson sings during the Stations of Reparations service
held at St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey."
Photo by Peter Tobia, courtesy Faith & Leadership.

Annette John-Hall, of Duke Divinity School's Faith & Leadership Journal, just published an article on the most recent Diocese of New Jersey Reparations Commission's Stations of Reparations Service which was held on March 21, 2026 at St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church, Elizabeth, New Jersey. In the article, titled "Stations of Reparations honor Black church history" she writes: "The Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey pauses annually during Lent to reflect on the effect of systemic racism on its Black parishes. Along with acknowledging its own history, the diocese has worked for reparations at the state level with religious and secular organizations." To read more about the service, the historical research that goes into it, and the reparative justice initiatives that the Commission has been engaged in read the article for free HERE.